§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many approvals were given to armed forces personnel to take up appointments with military companies in each year from 1995, broken down by rank of personnel. [184732]
§ Mr. CaplinThe rules on acceptance of appointments by Crown servants (the "Business Appointment Rules") require all officers in the armed forces, in certain circumstances, to apply for permission before taking up an appointment with an outside organisation.
Due to a technical problem, complete information on the number of applications made by officers in the armed forces to join military (defence-related) companies since 1995 is not currently available. The information set out in the table covers only the period from 1 January 1999 to the end of June 2004. I shall write to the hon. Member with the remaining details as soon as they become available.
719WIt is not known how many appointments were taken up.